The Most Ludicrous Graph of the Month

And now, for something completely different ... completely different ... completely different ...

Obama’s energy policies are a key vulnerability in the November elections, which has his staff scrambling to make it look like he’s actually done something to support domestic energy production. Since neither he nor anyone in his Administration knows the first thing about oil and gas, that can lead to some pretty ridiculous claims.

Like, for example, the following graph, found at Obama For America‘s website. (The small arrow reads “Obama Takes Office”. Click on the graph to see a larger size.).

At the end of this post you will find a FIFY (“Fixed It For You”) graph which identifies several other events of significance equal to or greater than that of Obama’s inauguration.

Notice the weasel word “responsibly”. To Obama and his minions, “responsibly” is synonymous with “Federally regulated”. Remember how Chief took care of McMurphy [Caution: graphic scene.] in the last scene of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? That’s how the EPA would “responsibly” regulate oil and gas.

But the main suggestion of this graph that I find so offensive is that Obama had anything at all to do with today’s record levels of production. As his own graph clearly shows, OBAMA TOOK OFFICE DURING A GAS BOOM! There had already been four consecutive years of production growth under Bush.

Much of the ramp-up in production is in the shale gas plays: the Barnett of Texas, the Haynesville of Louisiana, the Woodford of Oklahoma, the Fayetteville of Arkansas, the Marcellus of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the Eagleford of Texas. All of them are on private, not Federal lands, and under the jurisdiction of state, not Federal, regulatory bodies.

Consequently, Federal permitting/regulation is not a dominant issue in any of these plays.

After scratching my head and studying the graph for a while, I did conclude that President Obama’s election had one discernible impact on natural gas: it turned the color of the bars on the graph from very light blue to a darker hue. Well done, Mr. President!

A few other key events affected domestic gas production just as much as “Obama Takes Office”, the only significant event depicted on the campaign’s official version. A new and improved Obama For America bar chart is shown below. FIFY, Barry!